WASHINGTON—Credit unions will need to prepare for at least some members facing housing insecurity and other related issues following a Supreme Court ruling overruled the Biden administration's newest federal ban on evictions. The ruling came in response to a bid from a group of landlords to block the pandemic-related protections for renters facing eviction in most of the country.
In an unsigned opinion, and with three Democrat-appointed justices in dissent, the court said that "careful review" of the case "makes clear that the applicants are virtually certain to succeed on the merits of their argument that the CDC has exceeded its authority."
"It would be one thing if Congress had specifically authorized the action that the CDC has taken. But that has not happened," the court stated. "Instead, the CDC has imposed a nationwide moratorium on evictions in reliance on a decades-old statute that authorizes it to implement measures like fumigation and pest extermination. It strains credulity to believe that this statute grants the CDC the sweeping authority that it asserts."
The court said that "if a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it."
The White House issued a statement saying the Biden administration is "disappointed" the Supreme Court blocked the moratorium amid another surge in COVID-19 cases, CBS News reported.
‘Urgently Act’
"In light of the Supreme Court ruling and the continued risk of COVID-19 transmission, President Biden is once again calling on all entities that can prevent evictions – from cities and states to local courts, landlords, Cabinet Agencies – to urgently act to prevent evictions," White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer noted the recent spike in COVID-19 transmission rates and warned that allowing evictions to resume could have dangerous public health consequences, CBS News added.